President Rodrigo Duterte meets US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris Jr. in Malacañang. MPC Pool Photo
President Rodrigo Duterte met Wednesday with US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris Jr. in Malacañang.
Duterte and Harris discussed during their meeting security in the region, including the tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
The President asked Harris if the United States was worried about the missiles tests of North Korea and its possible nuclear attacks.
“I am worried,” Harris responded to Duterte.
Duterte said China “has the greatest leverage over North Korea.”
Duterte earlier revealed that US President Donald Trump requested him to contact Chinese President Xi Jinping and ask China to stop North Korea’s inter ballistic missile tests.
North Korea earlier unveiled its plan to fire missiles at Guam amid its word war with the US, which has been critical of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers, in a joint statement early August, has criticized North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile tests that may put at risk the peace and stability in the region.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr, and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año joined Duterte during the meeting.
US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, meanwhile, joined Harris in meeting the President.